A/N: Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.
A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. As the title implies, the battle begins here, and someone will draw...first blood.
A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.
A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 12: First Blood
August 30, 2012
The Former Lunar Palace
Earth's Moon
The former Palace that Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd had called home for many years hadn't been used in a while, so it had collected some dust, but that was nothing that Flammia couldn't fix. In fact, upon her arrival, she'd used her magic to fix it in no time.
Emblems of dark, dangerous flames littered the Palace floors now as Flammia sat on Lord Zedd's former throne. What was once a throne made of pure stone now glowed a deep shade of evil red.
"Up until what just happened, I may have decided to just settle in, introduce myself to those Power Pukes and systematically dismantle them," Flammia said.
Here it came, Scorpina, Nepa, Draco and Vipera thought as they listened to their Mistress' commands. The eruption that was coming wasn't going to be pretty.
They were right.
"But losing ten of my soldiers, to whatever wiped them out, that hit and run attack, no, now I'm mad!" Flammia growled. "We're going to destroy everything the Rangers hold dear in one fell swoop, and it's going to start right now."
Flammia also felt a sense of urgency. There had been an unnaturally large spike in power in the Morphin' Grid just now, and she had no doubt Rangers were gathering everywhere, preparing for a big attack.
It wasn't going to matter. She was going to stop their momentum before it could even get started. Today, she was going to bring down Zordon's legacy for good. But first, she was going to make an example out of a certain group of Rangers and destroy them too.
"Scorpina, what city held the latest team of Power Rangers?" Flammia asked.
"The latest group of Rangers, the Samurai Power Rangers, were based out of Panorama City, not too far away from other Power Ranger-based cities," Scorpina said.
"We're going to hit there too," Flammia said. "I want to send a message to Dr. Oliver's younger team and his friends written in that Samurai team's blood."
"Scorpina, take Draco and a battalion of Flamers and Tengas and attack Panorama City," Flammia said.
"You want me to wipe out the Samurai team. To make an example out of them," Scorpina said.
"Yes. Now go," Flammia ordered. Scorpina grunted a bit, but nodded and left. Whatever her Mistress wished, she'd do. But she wanted to fight those original Rangers more than anything in the world.
"We're also going to hit other Ranger-based cities too. Including Angel Grove, Reefside, Turtle Cove and others," Flammia said as she continued to bark out her orders. This was going to be a full scale invasion on day 1...
Her mood turned even more sour when she heard that disgustingly sweet voice again. The Crane, or what was left of Kimberly, had been unusually talkative and snappy the last few weeks and today was no exception.
'You can try all you want, sweetheart, but rest assured, you've already lost. You've had an ass whipping coming your way for 15 years and now you're going to find out what reality tastes like.'
Flammia's head hurt as she rushed out of the room. The Crane was unusually more powerful these days and was more feisty than before and she had no idea why.
"And who's going to stop me, YOUR former friends? Be quiet you insignificant worm! They couldn't even hope to face this!"
'Oh, rest assured, MY friends have their powers back on a permanent basis. And they've got help that's on the way. That little hit and run attack a while ago, that's just a prelude to what's in store for you.'
"Why don't you just be quiet you parasite? If you keep talking I might just shut you up for good and kill your soul once and for all!"
'Understand this, you might take me down, but if I go down, you go with me. I don't have anything left to lose at this point. It's you that has everything to lose.'
"Just what in the name of Maligore could stop THIS force? The force YOU helped create?"
'Understand this, I didn't help create this because I wanted to be evil. No, I had an ulterior motive for everything I did, even if it went against everything I stood for. Now, you're going to come face to face with the one that's going to bring you down. I can't wait.'
Flammia ran screaming through the palace, head hurting all the way. Inside, what remained of Kimberly smiled. She'd produced the desired effect.
She may not be what she once was, but that didn't mean she couldn't still cause trouble, even if she was condemned to eternal damnation.
'Come on, Kiddo,' she silently prayed as she knew Jayden was coming back to Earth...she could feel it. 'Get home before anyone gets hurt...'
3:45 P.M. local time
Panorama City, CA
With all the reunion greetings and hellos exchanged, Lauren and the rest of the Samurai Power Rangers prepared to head to the Shiba House for what they felt (and Lauren knew) would be a long-drawn out battle.
Before they could head that way though, they heard loud commotions and noise from nearby in downtown. This had trouble written all over it.
They stopped short when they saw what the commotion was about. What they saw was a frightening sight.
A half-human, half-scorpion female with a curved boomerang was leading a group of purple colored birds and terrorizing just getting off work, while a huge, intimidating dragon was leading a group of green and black colored footsoldier dragons.
"Hey," Lauren said, which got the attackers' attention. "Stop right there."
"Well, well, well," Scorpina sneered as they turned around and saw the six individuals standing in their way. "It's the new team. The Samurai Rangers, is it? Well, you just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Man, she's ugly," Mike said. "And cocky."
"Ugly doesn't even begin to describe Scorpina," Lauren said. The Rangers looked at Lauren in confusion, wondering how she could possibly know who Scorpina was.
Scorpina's partner Draco heard the comment, which didn't amuse him.
"We'll show you what ugly is, humans. I am Draco; prepare to fall to Lady Flammia and the Great Flame of Destruction, humans, just as every other planet under our control has!" the dragon roared, right before he spewed a torrent of fire at the six Rangers, who barely dove out of the way of the sudden attack.
By now, the coast was clear of any civilians. The distraction caused by the six humans had allowed all civilians to rush out of the area.
"Well, we'll have to do it without him, I guess," Kevin said. He wished Jayden were here; little did Kevin, Mia, Mike and Emily know Jayden was on his way. "Let's Ranger up."
"Right," Lauren said as she beckoned the Rangers to summon their Samuraizers.
"Samuraizer! Go, go Samurai!" Lauren, Mia, Kevin, Mike and Emily shouted simultaneously.
"Samurai, Gold Power!" Antonio called. Instantly, the six were transformed once more into the Samurai Power Rangers, fully ready for action.
"What? They weren't supposed to do that!" Draco roared in disbelief as he stared at the six morphed Rangers in front of them.
"It doesn't matter. They aren't as good as us, and they never were as good as us," Scorpina said, as she looked at her footsoldiers. "Attack!"
"Be careful, the Tengas and Flamers are very dangerous!" Lauren called as the Rangers prepared to defend themselves.
The Ranger Chamber of Command
Angel Grove, CA
As the Rangers, now gathered as one once again and commanded by Rhiannon, prepared to go explore their new surroundings, they heard the alarms go off.
Marissa, Billy's daughter, knew from being around her dad that any sort of alarm knew she had to get to safety. Well technically she already was safe, but she knew it was best to let her father and his friends handle their business. The Rangers all looked at her retreating form and smiled; they didn't doubt one day she'd be a great Ranger like her father.
"Well, so much for the feel good," Trini said.
"Yeah, it's really bad," Rhiannon said. "Take a look by the harbor."
Before she could activate the screens though, a loud whoosing teleportation sound was heard in the room. Moments later, two bodies were dumped on the floor who looked like they had been through the wringer. They looked like they'd been battered, beaten and fried and hadn't eaten in days. And somehow, they'd found their way here.
"Trey!" Tommy exclaimed. He in particular was in terrible shape; looked too weak to even sustain one morph.
"Are we...safe?" he barely stammered out.
"Yes. You're in our new Chamber of Command," Jason said as he and Kat helped prop Trey up, while the one known as the Phantom Ranger, held up by Billy and Trini, looked a little better thanks to his Power Ruby, but they had battered and fried him too.
"How in the world did you get here? And what happened?" Tanya asked. Adam gave her a look, coaxing her to be quiet and not fire off questions a mile a minute.
"We don't know the answer to either of those questions," Phantom Ranger replied. "One minute we were sequestered in our palace, begging, asking for food and knowing nothing was coming, and then suddenly we felt a burst of power and felt ourselves teleported. And we ended up here."
"I have a theory as to what happened, but we'd need someone to ask Dulcea first," Billy said. "That someone is on his way back here and on his way to help and when he gets here, I'll tell him to ask Dulcea about that."
"In the meantime, take a look at what's happening at the Harbor," Rhiannon said, directing everyone to the viewing screens. When Billy saw what was happening, he groaned.
"Oh God," he breathed uncomfortably. "So that's why he left Aquitar."
"You know him?" Jason said.
"Kind of though we never formally met. And personally I'm glad I didn't meet him. That's Squalus, and he's very dangerous as is his band of Landsharks, called Landers for short," Billy replied. "He was the Alien Rangers second worst enemy behind Hydro Hog. No doubt Kim's evil half paid him lots of money."
"Question is, what's the purpose of sending him?" Tanya said.
"To cut off the water supply starting at Angel Grove," Billy said.
"Can we do it without the Phoenix though?" Zack asked.
"I don't know, but we have to try to do it without him for now," Jason said. "Let's Ranger up."
"Right," Tommy said. "It's Morphin Time!"
The Phoenix Ninjazord
Somewhere out in space...
He wasn't to Earth yet, and wasn't in a place where Flammia's soldiers could be hiding out, so that gave him some time to take a look at what was happening back home.
It wasn't good. And he had a decision to make.
Flammia hadn't wasted any time upon getting to Earth. She had launched a coordinated attack upon several different Ranger cities, including Angel Grove, Panorama City, Reefside, and Turtle Cove.
The decision he had to make was if and when he got to Earth, where was he going to go? Does he go to Angel Grove and help out his real father and his aunts and uncles and leave his team vulnerable to getting killed? Does he go to Reefside? Turtle Cove? Or does he help his teammates in Panorama City?
As if to answer his question, a visual came on the screen in front of him that made him cringe.
As soon as he saw Scorpina's ugly face, he knew things were not in a good situation. He was right.
The Samurai Power Rangers were getting tossed on their asses by not only Scorpina, but a monstrous dragon that was with her. Just the two of them were making six very powerful Rangers look like a mere JV basketball team. Even when the Rangers had used their Spinswords to call forth their weapons, it didn't make a dent.
Things didn't look great in the other locales either, but he knew that the team he'd led would need his immediate help.
'Thanks for the help, Atsila,' he thought. 'Panorama City it is. Do one thing for me though please.'
'What is it?'
'I need a protection spell around Aunt Kat. Flammia cannot go near her for any reason until I get there.'
'A good idea. Give me a moment...there, it's done.'
'OK, then. Panorama City, here I come.'
'You must hurry, young Phoenix. If you don't, Mia could lose her life before you get there. Scorpina may well be out to kill anyone in pink until she is able to leave your Aunt Katherine for Flammia.'
That thought horrified Jayden. He had his powers, but now it was a race against time. There was no time to lose!
"Phoenix Zord, full speed!" Jayden called as he set the coordinates for Panorama City and kept on trucking ahead.
He was home free until he hit the edge of Earth's atmosphere, and then he saw the problem, clear as day.
Ten of Flammia's warships, no doubt, in a straight line, blocking the way. And unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't engage them first; it was in the tradition of the rules that his father's mentor had first set before those Rangers. Never escalate a battle unless forced.
Fortunately for Jayden, villains were generally pretty dumb especially generals who served under main villains. The first two ships that saw him recklessly opened fire. Big mistake.
Jayden easily avoided the fire flung his way, then pressed a small button. Instantly, twin lasers flew from the eyes of the Phoenix Zord, obliterating the ships on contact. Four more ships, obviously angered that their comrades had fallen just now, came directly at Jayden hoping to overpower him with numbers.
Jayden laughed; it was too easy to suck them in. He then pressed a bigger button. Instantly, the mouth of the Zord opened and a torrent of fire flew from it. The fire incinerated all four of the ships, turning them to ash. Jayden caught an additional break with the attack because the backlash of the attack severely damaged two of the ships who got too close, forcing them to retreat.
Two ships left.
It sounded easy, but Jayden soon found out that these guys had wised up, so to speak. They kept avoiding contact with his most lethal attacks, kept their distance, kept opening fire on Jayden. It wasn't doing too much harm to the Zord yet, but it was annoying and Jayden didn't have time to play around with these guys.
After another round where they came behind Jayden, opened fire and hit him with a blast that rocked his cockpit, and then came back around front, Jayden relaxed just a bit. He had an idea, it was a bit reckless in itself but if it worked, he could go on and get these guys out of his hair.
The ships were on either side of him now. If his plan was going to work, he'd have to implement it now before they came around him again.
Instantly, he zoomed forward toward both ships. Jayden relaxed as when he tried to split the ships down the middle, they both came toward him, hoping to double impale his ship.
"Phoenix Zord, evasive maneuver!" Jayden called. Right before the ships could strike his ship, his Zord zoomed upward. His plan had worked; the ships were too late to keep from colliding with each other. They both struck each other and were destroyed instantly.
Jayden breathed a sigh of relief; that problem was out of his hair, but now he had to get to Panorama City immediately.
Downtown Panorama City, CA
As they lay there, battered, bruised and de-morphed from the latest attack they'd suffered at the hands of the Fame of Destruction, Mia, Kevin, Emily, and Mike wondered how Lauren and Antonio seemed to know everything. At one point in the battle, they'd told the four other Rangers that they'd all wish they were facing Master Xandred again after today.
They were right. Xandred would have been a hundred times better than this.
Draco and Scorpina had outclassed, outmaneuvered the Samurai Power Rangers at every turn. They were good, but alone, these six could not hope to take on two seasoned warriors such as these two.
Even with the power of the Black Box (which Antonio had wisely kept and was now fully active) and the Auxiliary Discs, it hadn't mattered. They had been beaten, battered and fried.
And unless a miracle occurred, they were probably all going to die.
Mia gulped as she saw Scorpina heading towards her. Directly towards her.
She had no idea why Scorpina had picked her as a target, or who Scorpina was, but she suddenly wished she'd never heard of the half-scorpion female. She gasped as Draco headed towards Lauren with the same malicious look in his eyes.
"So, this is what the Pink Ranger mantle has come to," Scorpina sneered. "You couldn't even put up a fight against me if you tried."
"Why...why have you targeted me?" Mia pleaded. "I did nothing to you! I am my own person!"
"You're right, you yourself did nothing to me but past members of your legacy including my mistress humiliated me time and again years ago," Scorpina retorted. "And I'm going to take great pleasure in gutting the members of the Ranger legacy, one by one, starting with you."
"I understand your boyfriend is a former Ranger too, from my records," Scorpina said. "I bet he'd be embarrassed to ever be associated with you when I get through gutting you."
"You leave him out of this!" Mia pleaded.
"I see I struck a nerve," Scorpina smirked. "Say goodbye, pathetic Pink powerless Ranger."
At that moment, Mia thought she heard a cawing (though she swore she was hearing things) and a wave of fire flew in from out of nowhere, just missing Scorpina's right arm. Her good arm. A scowl formed on Scorpina's face, which frightened Mia all the more. Scorpina had been provoked even further now.
Now angered even more, Scorpina raised her boomerang, and Mia for sure thought that was the end of her.
Mia quickly looked over at where Lauren was lying on the ground below Draco, who was similarly preparing to gut Lauren, but with his massive foot which was covered in dragon spikes.
Mia said one last prayer that her soul would pass into the afterlife safely as she saw Scorpina lower the sword towards her.
The Phoenix Zord, the exact same time
"Damn," Jayden thought as he saw his attack just miss Scorpina. What no one knew at the time, was he'd been watching the whole confrontation as he was heading rapidly towards the Rangers. He'd heard every word that Scorpina said about Mia and him, and he was pretty pissed too.
To call Mia an embarrassment to the Pink legacy was uncalled for, and, to him, a slap in the face. He was going to make Scorpina pay for that but he was gonna have to hurry now! Lauren was in no less danger also.
"Phoenix Zord, go to the Rangers new base and and wait till I call you," Jayden said as he transformed into a ball of fire and leapt out of the cockpit, just as the massive crimson bird disappeared.
With death defying speed, Jayden, as a ball of fire, careened towards Scorpina who was seconds away from gutting his girlfriend. Scorpina had been so busy with Mia that she didn't see the suicide fire dive until it was too late, and the massive fireball passed through her body, causing her to howl in pain and drop her sword.
Moments later, the same fireball passed through Draco, who had been inches away from ending his sister's life with Draco's spikes. Draco, too, screamed in pain as he crashed to the ground.
"Get away from my team, and my girlfriend, or that's just a sample of the pain I'll have in store for you," his haunting voice echoed as the massive fireball disappeared and he appeared on top of a nearby business building.
It took a moment for everyone to regain their bearings after the surprise attack. The Samurai Rangers, who had flirted with death moments ago, came to first.
"We're alive? Is everyone here?" Emily said.
"Yeah, I think so, God that was so close," Mia said. The other Rangers nodded their assent.
"Guys! Up on the building!" Kevin exclaimed as he suddenly looked upward.
It was Jayden, but he was...different than he had been last time. He'd definitely changed his wardrobe somewhere...the color of his tank top wasn't red like Lauren, but a deeper shade of Crimson.
He didn't look pleased either.
"Human, you up there!" Draco roared, before Jayden could address his team. He was angry, but he was hurting the Rangers could tell. So was Scorpina, who the Rangers noticed had much of her body singed by whatever attack Jayden had done.
"You interrupted something that doesn't involve you!" Scorpina said. "Get lost, or I'll make you get lost!"
"Oh, are you talking to me?" Jayden responded, finally turning to look at both of his opponents. "You're going to end me. I don't think so you ugly excuse for a bug. You should get yourself looked at, by the way. It looks gross."
"By the way, the name's Jayden, former Red Samurai Ranger and I'm back and badder than ever. I'm going to beat the hell out of both you two, as well as every single member of your army until your Mistress' reign of terror finally ends. I have another goal too but you'll learn about that in a few moments too."
"Ha! You, beat the two of us, that's funny. You should know, human, that we took on an entire team of Rangers and whipped their ass!" Draco roared. "Compared to them you'll just be a nice snack!"
"Enough," Jayden said simply. "It's time to show you how serious I really am."
The Rangers watched in amazement as Jayden pulled out a morpher that looked unlike any of their Samuraizers. Well, except for Lauren; she wasn't necessarily amazed but the word to describe her feelings was proud.
'Go get em, little bro,' she thought.
"And now, allow me to say, in the words of my parents, It's Morphin Time!"
Four of the Rangers suddenly looked at each other, confused. Jayden's deceased parents, to their knowledge, had never said that!
"Crimson Ranger Power!" Jayden called. Both villains and Rangers watched in shock as Jayden's new armor began molding around his body. What no one expected was that the backlash of the morph extended to the Samurai Rangers, who immediately had their morphs restored as well.
Jayden then flipped down from the building triumphantly and landed in front of Scorpina and Draco, who looked as shocked as the Samurai Rangers were. And as shocked as their Mistress was.
The Lunar Palace, same time
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Flammia roared in disbelief. She of course was watching this whole thing too. All this time, the Phoenix the prophecy had talked about was NOT Nick Russell, the Red Mystic Force Ranger. No, it was that former Red Samurai Ranger who just months ago had sent Master Xandred to his hellish grave.
The dynamics had changed now, she knew. This new Ranger had never been seen before by her army, and no one in her army knew what this new warrior was capable of.
Then, the words that Jayden had just uttered came back to her.
It's Morphin Time. He said, from his very own mouth, that his parents had uttered that phrase before.
So he had to be related to Zordon's old Rangers, in a way.
Then another thought struck her. A dreadful thought.
No way.
It couldn't possibly be...But no Ranger had ever exuded this sort of power before.
Suddenly Flammia felt a familiar presence in her head. A most unwelcome one at that. To make matters worse, that presence was the happiest it had ever been in a long time.
"No," Flammia breathed.
'Surprise,' the perky voice of Kimberly Ann Hart fluttered through Flammia's head. 'Meet the real Phoenix...my son Jayden. The man who's going to make the Flame of Destruction wish it never even existed.'
'I'll tell you more later, but the reason I didn't fight your control before was to keep my son safe until he was ready. While you were busy with your own petty obsessions, I was making sure my son was safe from any harm that may come his way. Well, he's ready now and he's gonna whip your ass.'
Your army...it doesn't stand a chance. Oh and by the way, Lady, I'm going to beat your ass some day as well. All I need is one good day.'
"We'll see about that," Flammia growled. Flammia was in disbelief. How in the world had Kimberly kept this secret from her, all these years?
She had to admit, Kimberly was smart. There was a good chance she'd do anything to keep that child alive even if it meant terrible consequences for her. And by God, she'd done it.
That said, she still had faith in her army and would take her chances with that. The boy, even though the son of Kimberly and...no doubt...Tommy, was inexperienced and had never faced anyone like Scorpina and Draco.
"Scorpina! Draco! Destroy that interloper! NOW!"
Downtown Panorama City, CA
"OK, hot shot," Scorpina sneered. "Maybe you have some nice little toys, but let me introduce you to some of my friends."
Jayden didn't even flinch as about 30 Tengas appeared in front of him.
"Jayden, be careful, they're really powerful!" Mia yelled.
"Don't worry. I'll handle them. You guys regroup!" Jayden responded, right as the Tengas came at him.
"Phoenix Fire Sword!" he called as the powerful weapon appeared in his hand.
Immediately, Jayden went to work. Two Tengas descended on him, but he wasted no time in using the sword to clip their wings, rendering them flightless. In the next breath, he decapitated both of them with a mighty swing to the head.
Angrily, about eight more Tengas descended on him, hoping to avenge their fallen comrades. But Jayden channeled the fire that was in his veins into the sword, which lit up with burning hot flames (reminiscent of the Shogun Megazord's Fire Saber). With astonishing ease, Jayden used the flames of his sword to incinerate those eight Tengas in no time.
About ten more Tengas hoped to ambush him from the sky but Jayden had an answer for that too.
"Phoenix Wings, flight mode, activate," Jayden called as he went to meet them in the sky before they could ambush him. Four Tengas got the swift decapitation treatment, and as a result, three Tengas jumped on Jayden's back and tried to knock him out of the sky as revenge, but Jayden elbowed two of them off him and kneed another one in the nether regions.
"Phoenix Missiles," Jayden called; the wings still gave him flight but moved in slightly turning into missile launchers, reminiscent of the Falconzord of yesteryear. Now he just had to maneuver the Tengas where he wanted them...
The second he got all of the six remaining airborne ones in his sights, he ordered the missiles to launch. The second the Tengas were hit, they were knocked out of the sky and unconscious.
The Samurai Rangers, minus two, stood there in awe. These were the same villains that whipped them just a few minutes ago, yet Jayden was making mincemeat out of them. Where had this come from?
Ten Tengas still remained, but that was simply a formality. Jayden used his flight capability to dive down on the Tengas, and he used the fire inside him to heat up his sword again, reducing the ten remaining Tengas to ash in no time.
"Phoenix Wings, deactivate," Jayden called as he landed in front of Scorpina and Draco, confidence oozing through his body. And he had reason to be confident. These two would be a test, but he was confident in his own abilities.
"No more Tengas to hide behind, you two," Jayden snapped. "Fight me if you dare. That was just a taste of what I'm about to do."
The Lunar Palace
Flammia sat on Zedd's former throne, and watched two of her top soldiers get ready to take on the young Phoenix and she had to admit she was a little nervous now. The kid had been impressive in dispatching the Tengas and she was sure that wasn't the only thing he could do.
She was about to call her soldiers back, but that was when a Crane intervened.
'No, no, lady, you're not going to get out of this one,' Kimberly thought as she prepared for a sneak attack.
Right before Flammia could activate her remote to summon her soldiers back, suddenly a beam of pink light erupted from Flammia's body, shattering the device she used. The Crane would be out for a bit after the attack, but it had done its job.
'Jayden, they're all yours. Go get em, kid,' Kimberly thought before she decided to rest and regroup.
Meanwhile, Flammia was furious.
"SERPENTES!" she bellowed for her technical advisor. "GET IN HERE!"
"Yes my Queen," Serpentes, Vipera's brother, said as he hustled in, shocked as he looked at the remote. "What happened?"
"Long story short, but that pink parasite the Crane damaged my remote before I could call Scorpina and Draco back from Panroama City!" Flammia bellowed. "Please fix this! And do it quick! The Phoenix Ranger make me nervous!"
Downtown Panorama City, CA
Two of Flammia's two top generals listened carefully to see if their Mistress wanted them to flight the Phoenix Ranger.
No response was forthcoming. They were on their own.
"You have a big mouth, Kid," Draco boomed. "Now we're going to shut it up."
"If anyone has a big mouth it's you two," Jayden retorted. "Now come on."
"Don't say you didn't ask for this," Draco boomed as he extended his right hand and shot several sharp spikes at Jayden from it. Jayden deflected most of them away with his sword and used his flight capability to evade the rest. Using his flight capability he then tried to barrel over first Draco, then Scorpina. Big mistake.
They both caught Jayden like he was a little child and threw him into the side of a nearby building. Jayden crashed to the ground with a loud thud. The nearby Samurai Rangers cringed. They thought about going to help Jayden, but Lauren and Antonio somehow kept them at bay.
"Ready to give up yet human?" Draco roared.
"Never," Jayden breathed as he used his sword to stand once again. "I will never surrender to the likes of you."
That said, Jayden knew he needed something to at least buy himself some time. He had to admit, Scorpina and Draco were a tough team.
"Phoenix Wings! Wind Attack!" Jayden called as his wings extended once again. Reminiscent of Peckster back in the day, he began flapping his wings, and a gust of wind began to pick up. Scorpina and Draco tried to avoid the attack but there was no way to. The force of the attack sent them careening into a nearby car and they hit the ground hard.
"Damn. Bet that hurt," Kevin said.
"I hope that car has good insurance after that," Emily added.
"Ha. Might need to call Flo now," Mia added.
"Guys, I've got an idea," Lauren said. "Come here."
Meanwhile, Scorpina and Draco got up angry but Jayden had what he needed, which was time. They charged him angrily, but this was what Jayden wanted. He just wanted to keep them busy because if things worked out right, he could have them right where he wanted them.
Draco attempted to use his power to ram right into Jayden with his body, but Jayden was too fast. He quickly ducked the attack, ending up behind Draco and before Draco could fully recover, he swept Draco's leg out from under him, sending the massive dragon crashing to the ground.
"You're good, I'll give you that," Scorpina said, with Jayden watching her warily as he knew she was preparing for an attack, "but let's see how you like a little taste of my stinger!"
"Oh, no you don't," Jayden retorted; the second Scorpina unleashed her stinger, Jayden released a fire attack from his sword. The two attacks collided and fought for control.
Immediately, Jayden leaned on his spirit animal to give the attack more power, and while Scorpina raised the intensity of her attack as well, to her shock, the power of the Phoenix easily overpowered her attack, sending both attacks slamming into her full force.
As both villains crashed to the ground, Jayden spared a quick glance at his Samurai team and smiled. They were in position; now all he had to do was wait for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to get up.
"We're going to make you pay for injuring a woman and a mother the way you have!" Draco roared as he and Scorpina stood once more.
"You, make me pay? Fat chance," Jayden said. "I've kicked your ass for the last 20 minutes or so. Besides, I think you should look at what's behind you two. Hint: I don't think you'll like it. Get em, guys."
Scorpina and Draco turned around and worry filled their faces. They had turned around right into a Samurai Ranger attack; the battle between Jayden and Draco and Scorpina had given the Samurai team more than enough time to regroup and they hadn't paid attention to the Samurai team in quite a while.
"Quintuple Slash!" Lauren, Mia, Emily, Kevin and Mike shouted simultaneously.
"And let's give it a little gold power to send it on its way," Antonio added.
The addition of Antonio's powers did indeed give the attack a boost, and the attack slammed right into the two villains, sending them flying into a nearby garbage can. Amazingly, the two villains stood once again, though they were greatly weakened by the Samurai attack and the beating Jayden had levied on them.
"What does it take to put these two down?" Emily exclaimed with exasperation.
"This. Time for the coup de grace. Phoenix Fire Cannon," Jayden called. Immediately, the massive crimson cannon appeared in Jayden's hands. "Full power."
Jayden watched the power grow to critical mass, right as the two villains staggered forward like they were hung over after being in a bar.
"Fire!" Jayden called. A massive fireball erupted from the cannon, nailing Scorpina and Draco full on. They crashed into the side of a building and did not get up.
With Scorpina and Draco apparently down for the count, Jayden then faced his teammates.
"Welcome back, little brother," Lauren said. "I'm proud of you."
"Yeah, welcome back," Kevin said. "But you look...different."
"I didn't know you could do any of that!" Emily said.
"Thank you for saving me," Mia said, as she embraced her boyfriend, who had indeed saved her from an awful fate.
"Thanks, I promise everything will be explained to you once we're off the battlefield," Jayden said. "Just be aware, not everything you think you know is true."
"And Mia," Jayden said as he looked in her eyes, "I love you. Forever."
The Lunar Palace
Meanwhile, Flammia was livid. The day had gone from bad to worse. And it had started off great.
The attacks had gone as planned to start with. The Rangers involved in every separate battle were getting handled. But ever since that upstart brat kid of Tommy and Kim had arrived, the tide had switched.
Not just in Panroama City, where she couldn't call back even Scorpina and Draco because her device was broken, but in every other city as well, the influence of the nearby Phoenix had switched the tide in those locales as well; in every location the Rangers held the advantage.
It was time to change the tides again.
"You think you've won, Crimson Ranger? Think again!" Flammia screeched as fire formed on her fingertips.
"Fire of the Flame of Destruction, make my monsters GROW!" Flammia screamed as the fire hurtled towards Earth.
Downtown Panorama City, CA
Before Jayden could say or do anything more with Mia, a loud roar was heard. Two of them.
"Oh no!" Mike said. "Guys, look!"
Not only were Scorpina and Draco not dead, they were now skyscraper huge. Not only that, Scorpina was no longer the beautiful half scorpion half human, but was the gigantic scorpion monster that had attacked Angel Grove on many occasions.
"How do you like us now, Rangers?" Draco roared.
"When this battle is over, your blood will be at my feet, Crimson Ranger!" Scorpina screeched.
"We need to call the Zords!" Mia said.
"No, Mia. You guys need to go back to the Shiba House, with Lauren and Antonio," Jayden said. "You'll understand what's going on once you get back there. Mentor is standing by. Trust me, I'll be back as soon as I am able."
"We can't leave you! This is insane!" Kevin said.
"No, Kevin. You guys need to rest. I can handle these two. I'll get them away from here and the city will be safe. Go, I'll be fine," Jayden said.
"You better, little bro," Lauren said as she looked at him hard.
"Don't worry. You know I can take care of myself," Jayden said.
"Symbol power, teleport," Lauren said; the ensuing whoosh whisked all six Rangers away from the pr!"mises.
Not five seconds after the Rangers were whisked away, Jayden heard a chime on his communicator.
"Yeah, Jayden here," he said.
"Hey, man, we're getting a tough fight over here by Vipera and Squalus and a couple of their generals and we've gotta call the Zords. We could use some help!" Jason called.
"I'll be there in a second as soon as I get Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum out of here," Jayden said. "I have a plan. I'll be there in a sec."
Jayden cut the communication, barely diving out of the way as Draco's massive foot just missed him.
"OK, you want to play with fire, fine," Jayden said. "Let's see how you like the Power of Thunder. Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!"
"WHAT?" Scorpina, Draco and Flammia and what was left of Kimberly screeched all at once.
Jayden's hail was answered a few seconds later by the screech of a pink firebird that no one thought would ever be seen again.
Not five seconds after he got inside the cockpit, Scorpina and Draco opened fire on him, but he was able to steady the Zord to evade most of the attack. The Zord took minimal damage but still maintained its flight.
"So you want to play hardball, huh? OK," Jayden said.
The Firebird then released a cyclone attack reminiscent of what it did to Lipsyncher many years ago, only this time, two powerful monsters were caught in the vortex and were sent flying about 40 feet, nearly crashing into a building.
"OK, you two, it's time to take a little trip," Jayden said as the bird suddenly dove down on both monsters, grabbing them both and then flying away into the air, with both monsters screeching all the way.
Several times on the way, Draco tried to impale the Firebird Zord with his tail, but the Zord had such a grip on him and Scorpina both, that he was in a terribly awkward position and couldn't really mount an attack.
"Put us down, Ranger scum!" Scorpina screeched as the Firebird, Jayden could see, was now over Angel Grove and was close to the battle site. As Jason said, the Rangers could indeed use some help. The newest Ninja Megazords, the one captained by Jason, had taken a big time beating.
"OK, then, you asked for it," Jayden said as he suddenly dropped both monsters from 40 feet in the air, sending them crash landing literally into Squalus and Vipera. The collision stunned the villains momentarily giving the Rangers time to regroup.
"Jayden! Welcome back, man," Tommy said. "I guess you had to deal with those two clowns."
"Yeah, and I have to admit, they're tough. Real tough," Jayden said. "Get ready to form the Ninja Mega Falconzord in a sec. You'll see."
"Firebird Zord, recall. Phoenix Zord, activate," Jayden said as he teleported out of the Firebird and it disappeared. Not ten seconds later, the massive Phoenix Zord returned, and Jayden teleported right into the cockpit.
"Ninja Mega Falconzord transformation sequence," Jayden called as the Zords began their transformation. The only difference between this formation of the Rangers main Megazord and the older one was that the Phoenix went where the Crane Zord normally would have.
"Woo hoo, did it," Jayden said as he, Tommy, Billy, Aisha, Rocky and Adam converged in the main cockpit. "Now let's pick a monster and take em out."
"So you're the Crimson Ranger who destroyed some of our brothers leaving Tarmac 3," Squalus snarled. "For that, Crimson Ranger, you will eternally pay!"
"Yeah, you talk too much," Jayden said as both Megazords prepared to engage the four monsters. "Let's add one more piece to the puzzle. Ninjor, I summon you!"
Sure enough, moments later, Ninjor flew down from his cloud, landing in between the two Megazords.
"Man, it feels good to be back!" Ninjor said. "I'm here and I'm ready to make sure these monsters take a beating!"
"Glad to hear it, Blue," Jayden said, using his coined nickname for Ninjor. "Let's take these guys out."
The ensuing melee was swift and decisive. The four villains were powerful, but the Rangers persistence and the additional strength provided them by the Phoenix had worn them down quite a bit. Jayden still wasn't quite sure why Flammia hadn't called her troops back, but he'd take the result.
"We've got them where we want them," Kat said.
"Right," Jayden said. "Ninjor you're up!"
With that, Ninjor pushed both Zords aside and raised his fists to the sky.
"Feel the fury of the power of NINJA!" Ninjor shouted, transforming into his second form.
"Taste this fire power," he said in his sing-song voice as he released a powerful orange beam which slammed into Scorpina and Vipera, stunning them both.
"Ninja Mega-Falconzord, double punch," Tommy called as the Megazord's fists charged up with energy. The attack slammed into Draco, sending him flying across the street in pain.
"Let me handle Squalus, I can destroy him," Jayden said to Billy. "Your planet will be very happy."
"Take him out," Billy said, giving his nephew a slap on the back.
"Phoenix Zord, detach," Jayden said as that part of the Megazord detached briefly and screamed towards Squalus, who subsequently decided to dive underground and use its land shark attack on both sets of Zords.
"Coward," Jayden muttered. "Phoenix Zord missiles, launch at the shark fin."
The rockets ignited and the attack nailed Squalus in his land shark form, surrounding him in a shower of sparks as he was violently thrust out of the ground by the attack.
"You'll pay for that!" Squalus roared. "I will not be beaten by a child!"
"Oh yes you will be. You'll be dead in a few minutes," Jayden retorted. "Phoenix Zord Fire Blast!"
Instantly the mouth of the Zord opened, spewing a torrent of fire at the shark monster who had threatened Aquitar for many years. He tried to withstand the attack, but the fire of the Phoenix completely consumed him. He screamed in pain.
"This...CAN'T...BE...HAPPENING!"
"Oh it's happening. You're done," Jayden said as he ordered the Ninja Mega-Falconzord to reform.
With howls of agony, Squalus was consumed until he was nothing but ash.
"Wow!" Rocky exclaimed. "That was unbelievable!"
Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder crashed across the sky. Jayden groaned. He knew it could only mean one thing.
Moments later, Flammia in all her glory appeared as a ghostly face in the sky.
"It's her!" Aisha said.
"Monsters, retreat! All of you! Now! We must regroup!" Flammia roared. "And Crimson Ranger son of the Falcon and Crane, don't think I will ever forget what you did to Squalus! When I'm through with you, you'll wish you'd never heard of me!"
Flammia's face disappeared, but her presence certainly had an affect on the Rangers that had seen it. The villains had heard it too and had their own shock. The Crimson Ranger was Tommy and Kimberly's son?
"This isn't over Rangers," Scorpina promised. "And Crimson Ranger, you may have won today, but know that my Mistress will not surrender so easily...not even to the mighty Phoenix."
With that, the three remaining villains and subsequently the others that had attacked in other locales disappeared.
"Yeah, talk all you want. I drew first blood," Jayden said. "And it's only the beginning."
The Shiba House
5:45 p.m local time
"God, how does he continue to do it?" Kevin said as the Rangers watched the battle that had just taken place on their Samuraizers. "He's like a pro now and we're like minor leaguers! I've never seen anyone do the things Jayden is doing today!"
"So yeah, about that," Lauren said as she, Ji and Antonio looked at each other. "Jayden's story is...not what you think it is. And up until after we beat Xandred wasn't even what he thought it was either."
"You better tell us everything. The whole truth. You owe it to us," Emily said.
"The first thing you need to know is that Jayden, while he was a great Samurai Ranger, is not a Shiba. He belongs to another family of power. In fact maybe the most powerful duo as far as Rangers go."
"What do you mean?" Mike said as Lauren began to explain the story...
The Lunar Palace
On what was supposed to be a day of celebration, a coronation of the greatest dynasty of evil to ever grace the universe, had ended very much unlike what anyone in the Palace anticipated.
All over, there was shocked, uncomfortable silence. The Phoenix Ranger had successfully interrupted their plans. Not only that, they had found a shocking revelation.
The one that had spoiled their attacks was Tommy and Kimberly's son.
Even when you tried to kill them both, their legacy just wouldn't seem to die already.
It was uncomfortable in the place, Scorpina thought. Sooner or later, someone was going to go off the deep end. Sure enough...
"How...could...this...POSSIBLY...HAPPEN?" Flammia roared at every one of her generals. "HOW CAN WE LOSE WITH ALL THIS?"
"It's one battle, he's inexperienced," Stilio said. "He's never seen the full power we possess."
"Inexperienced? You IDIOT!" Flammia roared. "Tell that to Master Xandred...oh wait, he's DEAD!"
"Not only that, because of Squalus destruction, the Crane spirit got a spike in power! Do you realize that pathetic parasite Kimberly Hart still lives, that she's just been in hiding?" Flammia ranted. "It's because of her damaging my device that Squalus got destroyed!"
"Every time one of you gets destroyed, she grows stronger! She can still take back what is hers someday, all because of that Crimson fledgling!" Flammia roared. "I want him DESTROYED!"
With that, she left the room, still so mad that the generals in the room were lucky they hadn't been harmed yet.
Scorpina in particular sat down in a corner and began to meditate. For her, as Flammia's top confidant, there were many questions that needed to be answered...
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